A group of US academics and the Principal Researcher at Microsoft Research have produced a paper exploring the weaknesses of open 5G fronthaul systems. The group warns that software-based attacks are much easier to launch than standard-setters expect, and this should be a key consideration for equipment vendors and standards bodies ETSI and O-RAN Alliance. The report titled ‘On the Criticality of Integrity Protection in 5G Fronthaul Networks’ was shared at the Usenix Security Symposium, a US computing and networks conference earlier this month. The group argues that not enough attention is given to the risks of attacks on 5G fronthaul, which connects the base stations to radio units, and that integrity protection should be mandatory in fronthaul standards. While the…